As I listened to several speakers at the Menopause Summit a few weeks ago, the idea that certain foods cause inflammation kept coming up again and again. These were medical doctors who moved to functional practices to widen the options for meeting the needs of their patients. Instead of a pill for every ill, they discovered that many imbalances can be addressed by removing certain foods from the diet.
They called these high intolerance foods: gluten, corn, soy, eggs, dairy, peanuts and artificial sweeteners - all the ones I had to remove from our family meals years ago for healing from autoimmune and leaky gut.
It can be so difficult to learn to cook a whole new way. Here are some substitutions we find work well to keep the flavours we love with a new set of ingredients!
Here's what I often use instead:
Gluten - can cause chronic inflammation that leads to symptoms like stubborn weight gain, bloating,
joint pain, and headaches.
Substitutes: millet flour, almond meal, coconut flour, arrowroot starch, gluten-free oats - millet flour is great for thickening and almond meal is a favourite base for baked goods like muffins and cookies. For noodles we like quinoa pasta for its texture and nourishment. We love these crackers: Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers, 482 g | Costco (costcobusinesscentre.ca)
Corn - the highest GMO product that elevates blood sugars and causes inflammation.
Substitutes: Grain Free Tortilla Chips for nacho chips, Rice Wraps, Green Superfood Wraps, spiced almonds for snacks, protein bites
Soy - can mimic estrogens and cause hormone imbalance.
Substitutes: Almond Milk, Oat Milk, Milkadamia, Hemp Milk or Coconut Milk instead of Soy Milk. Try to find a version without food gums since their inclusion can create digestive problems. Chocolate without soy lecithin - Made Good Chocolate Chips, Cocoa Camino Chocolate is ethically sourced and fair trade. Mint chocolate lovers might join me in loving this one!
Eggs - can be an awesome source of quick, easy protein, but for many of us with chronic illness, they can be a source of abdominal cramping, fatigue, headaches and uncomfortable bloating.
In Baking, substitute: Flax Egg - 1 tbsp Flax Meal in 3 tbsp Water for baking recipes.
Dairy - If you have any of these symptoms: skin breakouts, sinus congestion, headaches, and gut issues - take a break from dairy for a few months to let it out of your system to see how you feel.
Substitutes: For Cheesy sauces try Coconut cream with pureed cashews in water. Sprinkle Yeast Extract like Parmesan on Spaghetti. Daiya has improved its flavour for a grated cheese option. The kinds of milk listed above work well on cereal as a milk substitute.
Peanuts - as a legume, they can often impact people with candida imbalance and create inflammation.
Substitute with other nuts and seeds. Costco has a great nut and seed blend that we love for flavour and better pricing. It works well to replace peanut butter in recipes. If nuts are an issue, look for a seed butter you can tolerate.
Artificial Sweeteners - sucralose or aspartame for sugar, you might be surprised to hear that they are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other serious diseases. I also have to be careful with sugars or grains that convert to sugar due to the candida connection to chronic fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
Substitutes: Raw honey, Pure Maple Syrup, Stevia, Krisda Monk Fruit Natural Sweetener and Coconut Sugar.
Nightshades: - Eggplant, Tomato, Potato, Peppers are high in lectins and many people with autoimmune do best by limiting or eliminating them. A Comprehensive List of Nightshade Vegetables - Gundry MD
Cheers to eating to heal!
Here are some family favourite recipes that avoid these sensitivities:
For more on this topic, this is an excellent article: Top 10 Most Inflammatory Foods to Avoid - DrJockers.com
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